Second Promise
by selenia-sopheria
Summary: three-shot — He had settled on doing what would make her happiest. Somehow, that turned out to be what would hurt him most. Asch/Natalia
1. Chapter 1

**Damn, I've had this idea since the start of summer, and I haven't worked on it since. I haven't written anything for a while, so I hope this can make up for it. Originally, this was supposed to be a one-shot, but I think it's too long for me to publish in one setting and too short to become a multi-chapter story. So it's a three-shot.**

**This is somewhat AU. You'll find out why soon.**

**I'll admit that the story's progression is a bit slow at first, but bear with me. It gets way better. I'm hoping that you guys like this first part and choose to follow the story, just so I know that people are interested in me continuing it. I don't know how often I'll update it yet, but if the number of readers and reviews pleases me, it could very well be updated by the next day. I'm not being a review-whore, by the way. Just…they make me happy. And motivated.**

**That's enough babble. Hope you enjoy.**

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Arranging a wedding was a long, arduous process. Duke Fabre and King Ingobert have started planning Asch and Natalia's official wedding months ago, and Asch was only notified that preparations were complete last week. Ever since then, Asch made his way to the castle every day to practice the ceremony in secret, along with his father, his uncle, and everybody else due for participation in the wedding. Guy was selected as the ring-bearer, Tear was chosen as the maid of honor, Anise had excitedly volunteered to be the flower girl, Jade was given the position as one of the two cord sponsors, and—much to Asch's dismay—Luke was decided as his best man. Virtually everybody knew about the wedding…except Natalia.

Asch had requested to keep it a secret from her. Ever since he had given in to Luke's request to return to the manor, he'd been planning a formal proposal to replace the one they'd made as children. He thought it was a good idea, since the promise they'd made years ago was full of nothing but childish naiveté. But now that he was older and matured, he figured he would able to reinforce that promise with the proper feelings. After all, he needed a place to start if he was going to rebuild the relationship that was lost when his replica took his place.

His strong determination and commitment to Natalia was the only reason he wasn't crushed when he found out he'd gotten a fatal cold on the morning of proposal day. He would propose, he decided, no matter what.

His mother expressed great, if not exaggerated concern over his illness, but he himself knew that without the proper rest, it would only get worse. It was with the grim realization that if he didn't take care of himself before midnight—the time he requested Natalia to meet him for the surprise—he would be unable to carry out the proposal. And so he eased his mother's plight by agreeing to stay in bed until the medicine to cure his cold was given to him.

But a chord of anxiety was struck when the news came: his cold was not a simple one, and excavation for the herb that would heal him would take at least two days. And that was excluding the time it would take for him to recover.

"You'll have to postpone it," Susanne murmured, gently brushing Asch's stiff bangs away from his forehead.

"I can't," Asch insisted as firmly as he could through his sore throat. "Father, Uncle and I have been planning this for almost a year, Mother. I need to do this. A cold right now is the least of my worries."

"Dear, that illness is deadly. You can't just ignore it. Please, stay in bed for today. If not for your own sake, do it for mine…and for Natalia's, as well."

"How would canceling the proposal do anything for Natalia's sake?"

"Well, instead of worrying about your condition, she'll be able to smile, cry, and ultimately, be her happiest when you propose to her in good health. Believe me; she'll experience the most euphoric feeling in the world." She gave him a warm smile. "And so will you."

Asch wanted to smile back, but that was like accepting the fact that everybody's hard work would have been for nothing. His mother's reasoning was sound, and, to be completely candid, he did feel unsure about proposing to Natalia in his current condition. But there were just too many factors against canceling the wedding that he felt trapped between the pressure of them. Even postponing the proposal would do no good—Natalia was going to leave Baticul as Kimlasca's representative for the Akzeriuth Relief Organization, a group dedicated to the reconstruction of Akzeriuth. And she wouldn't be back for weeks, maybe even months.

On the other hand, Duke Fabre and King Ingobert have already paid for everything: food, beverages, clothes, music, decorations. They've already sent invitations to friends and acquaintances, including Noelle, Florian, and even Emperor Peony. To send letters notifying everybody the wedding was canceled would take much longer than just a few days, and Asch wouldn't want to task his father and uncle with doing that. Then there was the fact that the wedding was in a mere five days.

They were too deep into the water to escape to the surface now, but Asch didn't want to drown, either. So he decided to cling onto his only anchor left for help: his father. Unfortunately, he wasn't as gentle about the matter as his mother had been.

"I understand contracting the illness was not your fault, but it's too late to postpone the wedding, Asch. You know that full well," Duke Fabre said sternly. Asch heaved a sigh.

"That's why I'm asking for your help. What am I supposed to do, Father? Of course I want to propose, but at the same time I don't want to risk having this cold get worse."

Duke Fabre paced around Asch's room, making his stress noticeable. Asch, tired of trying to make a decision, shut his eyes and waited patiently for his father to think of a solution. When Duke Fabre finally spoke up, however, Asch couldn't help but snap his eyes open.

"Get Luke to do it."

_"…What?"_

"He's your replica. He has your face, your eyes, and your voice. Make him wear your clothes, and Natalia won't be able to tell the difference."

"Are you kidding me?" Asch demanded, pushing himself up on his bed. "There's a huge difference between me and that dreck proposing to her, and you know it!" His father eyed him as a warning.

"There's hardly a difference. Luke loves Natalia all the same."

"Not the way I do," Asch murmured.

"Asch, I'm not trying to be the villain here. But there's simply nothing else that we can do. If you have another solution, I'd like to hear it."

Asch remained silent, staring down at the blood red design of his blanket.

"That's what I thought." He felt his father's hard stare on him, but he refused to flinch. After a long silence, Asch heard him let out a heavy sigh. "Listen: the proposal is not nearly as important as the wedding. You should be fully recovered by the ceremony, so stay strong until then. I don't want to see you bring yourself down over such an insignificant matter. There's nothing else we can do, Asch. So make the best of the situation instead of wallowing in grief over what can't be fixed."

He couldn't deny that his words weren't true. But that's precisely what made them painful. Filled with shame and resignation, Asch merely gave a half-hearted "okay" as a response. Duke Fabre didn't move an inch.

"Since you seem so dead-set against it," his father said, "I'll take the liberty of telling Luke the plan. It's highly unlikely he'll agree to this without some firm convincing."

"No," Asch stated, meeting Duke Fabre's eyes. "Father…please bring him to me. I'll be the one to convince him." Since Luke would most likely refuse, he decided it would be necessary to show that, even though he was still against it and was only doing it because he had no other choice, he himself believed that it was the best course of action they could take at this point. They stared at each other for a while, until Duke Fabre broke his gaze and turned around, his back to his son.

"If that's what you wish," he said, leaving the room and Asch with his disconcerted thoughts. Really, it wasn't what he wished at all. But by doing this, he declared, he would be appeasing his mother, making sure that all the planning for the wedding wouldn't go to waste, and keeping Natalia in check so she wouldn't have to see him like this.

He had settled on doing what would make her happiest. Yet, that turned out to be what would hurt him most.


	2. Chapter 2

**Since I had the second part already written, I decided to just upload it now, especially since the first part didn't seem too appealing. Hopefully this will get more people hooked.**

**Spoilers if you don't know about Akzeriuth yet, by the way. Hmm, now that I think about it, this isn't too AU…**

**I don't have the last part written yet, so like I said in the previous part, it could take a day to a few weeks for me to update depending on if people are liking this story or not. Ciao, and enjoy.**

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"Asch?" The door opened slightly, and Luke's red, sun-kissed head peeked through. Asch noticed his replica's hesitation as he stepped inside; he'd most likely observed the unsightly pallor on Asch's face. "Mother said you wanted to see me." Luke's eyebrows knitted together in concern. "Are you all right? You look…" Asch stared as he gesticulated helplessly and his mouth worked, evidently trying to avoid saying something that would offend him, especially in his current state. Luke sighed, his arms listlessly dropping to his sides. "Well, sick."

As if to provide evidence to prove Luke's observation correct, Asch's body reacted. His emerald eyes narrowed, and a strange sensation formed in his nose before he let out a mighty sneeze, causing Luke to jump about two feet in the air. Luke approached the dresser and picked up the box of tissues atop it, offering the whole thing to Asch. The sick boy snatched it out of his hands, showing no sign of thanks.

While Asch quietly blew his nose, he felt Luke's concerned eyes on him. He turned slightly to glare at him, and while his sickness may have hindered the full capacity of resentment that was always present in his glowers, it was still enough to make Luke shrink back.

"Do you mind?" he snapped, the scratchiness in his throat concealing a third of his usual venom.

"Sorry," Luke murmured apologetically, whirling his body in the opposite direction. Once Asch had finished, he turned back around and spoke up. "So why did you call? You're the last person I'd expect to want something from me."

Asch let out a deep sigh. Was he really going to go through with this? No—he'd already argued against his father about it earlier. There was no other option, and there was no turning back now.

"Listen, dreck," Asch began in the most serious tone he could manage. "I need you to do me a favor. A big one."

Luke said nothing, but the way curiosity (and a hint of disbelief) shimmered in his wide, blinking eyes let Asch know he had his full attention. Asch sighed again, running an exhausted hand through his hair.

"How well do you think you could play me?"

The lighter redhead blinked.

"What?"

"Let me rephrase that. You think you could pull off being me?"

"Well…I guess…" Luke replied unsurely, placing his hand behind his neck. "I mean, you are kinda predictable… N-not like I mean it in a bad way, or anything," he added hastily upon Asch shooting him a glare that would have sent Largo the Black Lion screaming and running for the hills. In a second, Luke was quickly composed, and so he continued. "Anyway…why are you asking me this?" Asch shifted his gaze to the side.

"I had something very important planned today at midnight…but it looks like I won't be able to get it done, thanks to my condition," he said, scowling. After a small cough, he fixed Luke with an intense stare, hoping and anticipating that his replica would understand how much this favor meant to him. "If you decide to do this for me, you need to promise me you'll take it seriously. You don't know how much I'll be depending on you, and if you do happen to screw up, I will kill you. And I mean it this time. But you have to do this, and you can't mess up no matter what, because…it means a lot to me," he ended, somewhat wistfully. Luke nodded slowly, despite Asch's prior threat.

"Okay… What is it that you want me to do?" Asch didn't want to ask him directly, so with a jerk of his chin he motioned to a small black box that sat on his dresser. He watched Luke take the box in his hands with interest; his replica opened it carefully, gasping when his eyes caught sight of what was inside. "This is…"

"A wedding ring," Asch finished, closing his eyes. "I planned on proposing to Natalia tonight."

"What?" came Luke's incredulous reply. "So…your favor…is having me propose to her instead…?"

"…Yeah," Asch muttered. "Of course, you'll be dressed up as me when you do it, so—"

"No! Absolutely not!" Luke protested vehemently, making Asch's eyes snap open to eye him inquisitively. What was he so riled up about? "I can't believe you would even think about asking me to do something like that! Natalia is your fiancée, not mine! Remember? You were the one who made that promise to her when you were kids, not me! And yet, you can't even postpone your proposal until—"

"Father and Uncle have been planning the wedding for almost a year now, and Natalia will be leaving Baticul in a few weeks to help rebuild the Akzeriuth that you destroyed," Asch growled, effectively cutting Luke off. "She won't return for a while, and Father and Uncle's efforts to prepare the ceremony would go to waste. Mother begged me to stay in bed until I recover, and this cold doesn't look like it's going to go away anytime soon. Put the facts together, reject! There's no other way! The one time I ask for your help, you don't even have the patience to shut up and think about it for a second!"

Unfortunately, Asch didn't take a single breath to pause during his berating; his voice cracked at the last few spoken syllables, resulting in a coughing fit that was loud even when muffled by his shoulder. From the corner of his narrowed eye, Asch saw Luke make a move to comfort him, but he shot the other redhead a glare that kept him in place.

"Sorry," Luke muttered, after Asch's coughing had died down. "I just… I didn't know the details, so I automatically assumed that you didn't care enough to wait until you recovered…"

"Of course I care! You think I want you to take my place?!" Asch demanded. Detecting his increasing volume, he sighed, lowering his voice before he ended up having another coughing frenzy. "Well? Are you going to do it or not?"

Luke seemed to be having a mental debate with himself over the decision. His gaze fell on Asch's piercing—yet beseeching—eyes.

"Is this what you really want?"

_Of course not!_ Asch would have roared, had he not shoved the retort down his throat before it escaped. After all, Luke's words were a reaction to his concern of Asch's wellbeing, not due to stubbornness and utter ignorance. If he cared this much, he should be able to accept Asch's painful decision. It already hurt the original enough to ask.

"Yes," Asch spoke, barely audible.

It took moments for Luke to answer. Asch kept his aching gaze on the box that held Natalia's wedding ring in Luke's still hand, picturing himself on one knee, Natalia sobbing _yes, yes oh Asch of course_ through her overflowing tears—until a sigh brought him back to reality.

"Okay," Luke murmured quietly, his grip tightening around the small box.

"…Thanks." Asch choked the word out with intense effort. Luke's eyes flickered to glance at him, but while Asch expected to see shock in them, he saw something he couldn't quite fully perceive. Regret?

"I'll have a maid bring over my clothes and a wig to your room later," Asch added, before the silence got too long.

Luke said nothing. He merely nodded once, turned on his heel and walked towards the door. The door's usually unnoticeable creak was loud in Asch's ears, especially since Luke drew out in opening it. The lighter redhead was set to leave, but he gazed back over his shoulder with a fierce expression to look at Asch one last time.

"Asch, I may be doing you a favor, but…I'm not doing Natalia one."

Luke walked out, letting the door close on its own. The resounding click of the door handle sounded more like a bang in Asch's ears. He let out a heavy, tired breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and fell back against his pillow.

For once, Asch was unable to counter his replica's words.


End file.
